


Kerioth's Heist

by RadioFreeWill



Category: Exalted (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 05:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20559140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioFreeWill/pseuds/RadioFreeWill
Summary: In which a gambler settles some debts while incurring others.





	Kerioth's Heist

“I believe it’s your move, Master Ledaal.”

This was embarrassing, no two ways about it. Ledaal Bhuret was known as one of the finest strategists and Gateway players of his House; he had been trained by Kes himself and had even bested Icemind on one occasion (Icemind was on half its normal difficulty, but still, no easy feat). And here he was, getting trounced in the middle of a very popular brothel by this, this… this Tengese punk.

“I KNOW it’s my move. I was beating elders at this game before you could find your dick, child. You don’t need to explain the rules to me like I’m some patrician whelp.” Bhuret stared at the board like it was the one to blame for a second, trying to figure out what move could possibly protect his Phoenix piece.

“Oh, good. I dozed off there for a second, I wasn’t sure if you had actually moved or not yet.” Kerioth loved two things more than anything; games, and aggravating Dynasts. And nothing aggravated Dynasts than losing at games. Especially when there were stakes. “I mean, your Phoenix is pretty ope…” The look that Bhuret shot at Kerioth almost hit his jugular. “…en.” Kerioth put on his best “I’m very nervous” face, but inside, he was howling with laughter.

Bhuret’s fiery gaze went back to the Gateway board. His eyes darted to a few different locations, getting wider with each flit. “Ah, ha! Got you!” His face resembled a mad conqueror splitting the battlefield with a grimcleaver. He slammed his Squid piece onto the land beside Kerioth’s Elk with a force that threatened to crack the board. The entire room drew back in shock at the barbaric yawp, but quickly followed it with admiring oohs and polite applause. They were drawing an audience, something Kerioth hadn’t anticipated, but appreciated nonetheless. But they could be a million miles away for all Kerioth cared.

Kerioth absently signaled for more sake, but his eyes never broke contact with Bhuret. “Now, why would you go and make a move like that?” He poured himself a new glass. “See, here’s the thing about Gateway, my friend, playing the game is only half of it.” Kerioth slammed back all the glass’ contents, moved his own Squid with a nonchalant confidence, and swallowed. “You’ve gotta be able to play the player, too. Checkmate. I win.”

Bhuret was the first to break eye contact, staring down at his threatened Dragon piece. His eyes immediately shot back to Kerioth’s smug grin, then back to the board, then back to Kerioth. He buried his face in his hands and knocked over the Dragon, signaling defeat. And since there was no way for him to be any more humiliated, he childishly knocked the board over, sending pieces scattering.

“Thanks for the game, Ledaal, my friend, and uh…” he extended his hand.

“Fine.” The loser handed over a slab of jade the size of Kerioth’s hand. Kerioth pocketed the money and re-offered his hand.

“And?” Bhuret’s eyes narrowed. “Of course.” He looked back at one of the sex workers that had been encircling him throughout the game. “Go with him, Gi. You’re his for the…”

“No no no no no,” Kerioth interrupted. “Her. The Southern girl.”

The woman Kerioth gestured to was indeed clearly Southern, but more than that, she was scared. She had spent the evening trying to keep as low a profile as possible, dodging any john that might have tried to hire her. When Kerioth called her out, she could have cried if not for the threats she had received against such behavior.

“Taslima? I couldn’t! I haven’t even…”

“It’s either her, or my father has a talk with your mother about how you’re running the family business.”

Bhuret sighed, and the way his dark gray mustache framed his mouth, it had the seeming of a dragon bellowing smoke. “Fine. Take Taslima and leave.” Kerioth took Taslima by one hand and the bottle of sake by the other made his way for the exit. “Pleasure doing business with ya, Bhu-Bhu, I’m sure I’ll see you around the tables in Great Forks, say hello to the missus for me, au revoir!” With that the two of them took off from the brothel like dogs were nipping at Kerioth’s heels. He felt a little bad, as there were a few bounds where he practically dragged Taslima.

“C’mon, honey, pick up the pace, we gotta move.” He said, after picking her up.

“What’s the matter, do you live far from here?” she asked, desperately catching her breath.

“No, but you do. Chiaroscuro, right?”

“Varangia, actually.”

“Really, your family’s Varangian? Huh. Either way, I know your mother. She sent me to get you, but we have to move quick to get out of this town. Take this.” He pulled a heavy, dark-colored cloak over her.

“What? Why?”

“Well, number one, what I’ve just done constitutes theft. Number two, that wasn’t a checkmate, dude had like three legal moves that could’ve blocked or captured my Squid. And number three, only one kind of thing that looks like me could pull off a bluff that bold.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it. Your mom’s staying at an inn called the Last Oasis. Tell her we’re even. Go. They won’t get past me.”

“Who won’t…?” Her words were cut short by the sound of footsteps and a wagon echoing over the midnight torchlit streets. Kerioth shoved the plate of jade into her hands, pulled the hood up on her cloak, and turned her toward an alley. They were almost there when Kerioth stopped her. “Wait a minute,” he pulled her close and kissed her, long and deep. When he backed off, Taslima was dumbstruck, but collected herself quickly enough to slap him. Kerioth chuckled to himself. “Okay, *now* we’re even,” he said with a cocky grin. “Go! Bhuret’s goons will be here any second!”

As Taslima ran through the alley toward her destination, Kerioth calmly, even whimsically, strolled out into the middle of the street. When he reached the very center, a rickshaw carrying Ledaal Bhuret rounded the corner, flanked by half a dozen trained fighters. Mercenaries, probably, by the looks of them. Kerioth pulled his gourd from his belt and took a swig of the liquor inside. “Don’t move, cretin. Return my rightful property this instant, and I will let you off easy.” Bhuret’s goons stepped forward and drew their weapons. “Well, easier, anyway.”

Kerioth turned on his heels in a way that turned his calm strut to a drunken stagger. “Huh? Wha popertee ya talkin… oooh wait, aren’t you tha guy that sucks at Gateway?” He started stumbling toward Bhuret, his gourd sloshing and spilling booze all over the street.

“Why you drunken… enough of this. Kill him.” Bhuret struck his cabbie and began to ride away.

The mercenaries advanced on Kerioth, waving their weapons in front of them. The lead fighter, a huge Haltan with a pair of axes, swung at his target, but Kerioth swayed at the last minute to avoid the strike. Another soldier thrust a spear at Kerioth, but he just spun, rolling down the length of the shaft, and letting centrifugal force strike his assailant with the gourd. “Oh, sorry, man, ‘m jus’ tryna get past ya here…” With that, Kerioth stumbled backwards into yet another goon, yet with enough force to knock him to the ground, somersaulting back to his feet while his target stayed prone. The flip spilled even more alcohol.

“Sorry, fellas, this has been fun, but I gotta skedaddle,” Kerioth said as he swerved away from his attackers, suddenly stone-cold sober. He lifted his gourd to his lips and took a big draught. In his other hand, he procured his Fire Pearl from his pocket. Lowering his flask, he raised the pearl to his mouth and sprayed the booze out past the pearl, igniting it as it passed over and around the stone. The flaming spray caught on the puddles of alcohol on the ground, creating a wall of amber flame.

Kerioth could still see Bhuret’s rickshaw about a block away. He called out and let the Essence around him infuse his words “**STOP DEAD IN YOUR TRACKS**.” The cabbie, moving with a decent speed despite his hefty passenger, skidded to a halt, his fare toppling forward out of the carriage and over him, sending both men to the ground. As the Dynast climbed to his feet, his reaction was a blend of righteous anger, spitting disgust, and panic. What he saw was the same blue-haired Tengese man; although now, he had a golden ring of light on his forehead with a similar golden circle at the center of it.

“Deceiver… YOU’RE A DECEIVER!” Bhuret yelled at him as soon as he rediscovered his voice.

“See, I’ve always preferred the ‘Quicksilver Falcon’ title, but hey, these days? To-may-to, to-mah-to.” Kerioth took a few steps forward and another swig from his gourd. “I mean, not everyone can bluff a Checkmate in Gateway, so I guess the ‘Deceiver’ thing fits in this case, but…”

“You moron. I will have the Wyld Hunt on this town like flies on a yeddim when they…”

“NO, YOU LISTEN.” Kerioth’s anima flared, illuminating the street around them. “Wait, you never said ‘listen’ WHATEVER. LISTEN. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna mail the deed to that brothel to Nyara Al-Qadir in Chiaroscuro. It’s hers now, to do with as she wishes. And furthermore, when you call for your Wyld Hunt buddies, because I’m sure they’re real, you give them your opinion as to whether kidnapping the people that The Deceiver Kerioth cares about is a smart play. And if you don’t do these things? The Guild will be the least of your problems. Deal?” He extended his hand to the confounded Ledaal.

Bhuret tried to look around for reinforcements but couldn’t take his eyes off the font of light before him. “And I live?”

Kerioth sighed, “Gods, yes, I promise I won’t kill you or infect you with my demon-ness or whatever.”

Bhuret timidly put his hand forward, and Kerioth grabbed it enthusiastically. Kerioth’s caste mark shone brighter for a few seconds. “And thus, is the agreement sanctified. Now who’s the moron?”

Kerioth walked back toward the mostly-extinguished wall of flame, his anima subdued but his caste mark still shining brightly. Bhuret chased for a few steps, sputtering commands to the mercs, but Kerioth stopped them with a gesture to his forehead, as if to say, “you really wanna fight this?” Kerioth continued walking out of that town, humming a happy tune to himself as he listened to the Low Realm curses float on the night air in his direction. As he left earshot of the town, he went to take a sip from his gourd, which offered a meager few drops.

“Ah, shit. Guess I gotta find another game.”


End file.
